In February 2022, Paul Johnston, the Scottish Government’s Director-General Communities, wrote to the Public Audit Committee to share the outcome of an independent review of the Scottish Government’s relationships with public bodies. The letter also included the Scottish Government’s response to recommendations made within the independent review.

The review was undertaken partly as a result of criticism from the Session 5 Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee (PAPLS) of the Scottish Government’s management of its relationships with public bodies, as reported by the Auditor General for Scotland. You can find out more about the PAPLS Committee’s work on this issue in its Key Audit Themes report, published in September 2019 as well as the Scottish Government’s response to the report.

On 4 March 2021, the PAPLS Committee also held an evidence session with the Scottish Government on Scottish Government support for public bodies.

Read the Official Report, 4 March 2021

Read the review of relationships with public bodies Scottish Government's response. Letter to the Convener from Paul Johnston, Director-General Communities, Scottish Government, 25 February 2022.

Information about the Committee’s consideration of the review can be found below.